In a novel initiative, students of all schools including government and aided institutions will spend at least 20 minutes during school hours to nurture trees and plants in the campus in Ranipet district on every Monday, starting from July 27.

Officials of School Education Department said that initiative, which was a brainchild of Collector N. Priya, is aimed to inculcate the habit of environmental conservation especially importance of trees among students. “Students of all classes (I-XII standard) will spend at least 15-20 minutes taking care of trees and plants by watering them, removing dry leaves near the trees. Teachers will also explain interesting facts about the tree species to them,” said M. Mohana, Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Ranipet.

Among the works, students will involve themselves in plantation, watering, and maintenance of saplings in the school campus. Students showing best involvement will also be honoured with “Green Badges”.

At present, around 900 schools including 136 government high and higher secondary schools and 1,100 private schools are functioning in the district. Education officials said that an order has also been placed to procure around 30,000 “Green Badges” to honour best performing students in nurturing trees in schools in the district in the coming weeks. “It will help to create environmental awareness and instil responsibility towards nature among children,” said Ms. Mohana.